Saturday, January 15, 2011

Get the Look: The Thin Man, 1934

Nora, Asta and Nick

This week, the Vintage Fashion Guild featured members showing off their best Thin Man looks. As I wrote for this "Get the Look" feature,
Suave, witty, stylish and charming…if you haven’t yet met Nick and Nora Charles (inimitably created by William Powell and Myrna Loy) you must see The Thin Man movies. This week we pull from our 1930-40s collections to bring you our very best Nick and Nora looks.
Night and day, The Charles' looks were unmistakably elegant and fashionable.

If you really haven't met Nick and Nora Charles, and their wonder dog Asta, allow me to introduce you.

Without a doubt, the finest of the 6-part Thin Man series of movies is the original, dating from 1934. Based on the detective novel by Dashiell Hammett, the movie is a mystery and a comedy in equal parts...fueled by copious alcohol and wit. This video shows a few of the quintessential Nick and Nora scenes from the first two movies in the series.



It isn't easy finding 1930s clothing and accessories now, but leave it to VFG members (and their deep inventories) to provide examples:

Bernard Weatherill Formal Tailcoat Suit from Glad Rags & Curios, 30s Nouveau Print Wide Silk Tie from The Spectrum, detail from 30s Black Velvet Bias Cut Formal Dress Gown from Mags Rags, 1930s Black Sheer Silk Chiffon Butterfly Nightgown from Daisy Fairbanks, Early Eisenberg Dress Clip-Unsigned from Linn's Collection, 1930s Peep Toe Strap Shoes Black Leather Cut Outs from Bettes Bargains, Felt Flowers Tilt Hat by New York Creations from Rue de la Paix, 1930s Art Deco Men's Smoking Lounging Robe Dressing Gown from Poppy's Vintage Clothing, Late 1930s Dressing Gown or Hostess Dress from Bonnie & Clyde's Treasure Trove Vintage

I've got a few 30s items available this week, including a lace evening dress and jacket, a day dress and a hostess gown.

Among my eBay offerings this week

7 comments:

Denise said...

Love the 30's fashions! I just wish that I could find a pretty dress in a modern size 10. I've been looking for years. Even tried making a dress from a vintage pattern but it didn't work out.

osovictoria said...

I too love the 30s These pics remind me of the royal blue satin long house coat I use to have and my favorite turquoise blue leather slingback sandals, oh how I miss them! I worn the dickens out of both of them back in the 60s and 70s. Ha!

denisebrain said...

Denise, what style are you looking for...day dress, evening dress? The lovely pink hostess dress from Bonnie & Clyde's Treasure Trove (pictured above) looks like about a size 10.

Your 30s house coat and sandals sound like pure 30s elegance Victoria! The few things I've owned from the 30s count among my favorite clothing items ever.

Denise said...

I already checked, the waist is 29". I measure in at 30". Originally I was looking for a day or tea dress.

Ali Basye said...

I LOVE Nick and Nora! In fact, we themed (and dressed for) our engagement video with Nick and Nora in mind, and then re-enacted our meeting/engagement as a fun way to announce it to our friends and family. Have a look—we had a lot of fun with it: http://www.oldschoolpinups.com/toddandalipropos.html

denisebrain said...

I'll keep my eyes open Denise.

Ali Basye...that is a really cool video!

LizAnn said...

Great blog! You really did a nice job translating this vintage into something more modern... I'm trying to do something similar on my blog, check it out when you get a chance!

LizAnn
VPV Intern
http://www.shopVPV.com